Best 15-Minute Pan-Seared Salmon & Salad

You will love this easy salmon recipe! It creates a perfectly GOLDEN, pan-fried salmon that is crunchy on the outside and tender in the middle, paired with a beautiful fresh salad. It is a stunning meal that takes only 20 minutes from start to finish!

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Talk about a beautiful and simple meal! This dish has two main parts: a perfectly seasoned salmon with a mouth-watering golden crust, and a BRIGHT, crunchy salad filled with lettuce, cucumber, and sweet peppers. They both taste great alone, but together they are absolutely perfect. The best part? It looks like a fancy restaurant meal, but it is super quick and easy to cook in your own kitchen. Believe me, you will want to cook this all the time!

Helpful Tips & Easy Changes

• Make sure your pan is HOT. A very hot pan is the trick to getting that wonderful golden crust. If the pan is not hot enough, the fish will just steam instead of getting crispy (and we definitely want that beautiful crunch!).
• Do not move the fish right away. Leave the salmon alone for 3 to 4 minutes on the first side before you try to flip it. It will easily unstick from the pan all by itself when it is ready—no struggling needed!
• Pick the correct oil. Olive oil gives a great taste, but if you want an even crispier crust, try using avocado oil or another oil that can handle high heat.
• Using fresh or frozen salmon. Fresh fish is wonderful, but high-quality frozen salmon is just as good. Just make sure to defrost it completely and dry it well with a paper towel so it is not wet.
• Make the salad pop. Mix in some fresh herbs like dill, parsley, or basil to give the salad a fresh, summery flavor.
• Try different vegetables. Don’t have peppers? You can easily use cherry tomatoes, sliced radishes, or thin carrots for that nice crunch.
• Turn it into a bigger meal. If you are very hungry, serve this dish with some baked baby potatoes or a piece of warm, crusty bread to soak up all the delicious juices.

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What You Will Need (Ingredients)

For the Salmon:

• 2 salmon steaks (roughly 1 inch thick)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Salt, to your liking
• Freshly ground black pepper, to your liking

For the Fresh Salad:

• 2 cups of iceberg lettuce, roughly chopped
• 1 small cucumber, cut into thin slices
• ½ of a yellow bell pepper, cut into small cubes
• ½ of a red bell pepper, cut into small cubes
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil (for the dressing)
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
• A pinch of salt and black pepper, to your liking

Let’s Cook: Crispy Pan-Seared Salmon and Fresh Greens

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Prepare the salad. Put the lettuce, cucumber, chopped peppers, and green onions into a large bowl. Pour the olive oil and lemon juice over the top. Add salt and pepper, then mix everything together gently. Set it to the side for now.

Flavor the salmon. Use a paper towel to completely dry the salmon steaks. Sprinkle both sides generously with salt and fresh black pepper.

Warm up the pan. Pour olive oil into a large frying pan and turn the heat to medium-high until the oil is hot and shiny.

Cook the salmon. Place the salmon pieces into the hot pan and COOK them for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Wait until they are beautifully golden brown on the outside and fully cooked in the middle.

Plate and serve. Move the salmon onto your dinner plates, add a large scoop of the fresh salad next to it, and enjoy it right away!

Tips for Storing Leftovers

Pan-cooked salmon tastes the absolute best when it is eaten fresh out of the pan, while the outside is still crunchy and the inside is soft. However, if you have extra food:

• Keep it in the fridge: Store the cooled salmon and the salad in their own separate, tightly sealed containers. The fish will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
• Warming it up: Heat the salmon slowly in a frying pan on low heat, or place it in the oven at 300°F for 8 to 10 minutes. AVOID using the microwave, as it will dry the fish out!
• Salad advice: The salad is crunchiest when eaten fresh, but you can save the plain, undressed vegetables in a different container for up to 2 days. Just pour the dressing on right before you are ready to eat so it stays nice and crisp.